Manehattan's Lone Guardian

by Curtis Wildcat

The New Deep Sea Squadron Takes Shape

"Good morning, Drama! I'm here!"

Drama Heart magicked open the door, letting Gray and her children--with Ebony at the front--into the Pyre. "That you are, dearies. How is everypony doing this fine morning?"

Fiver looked back at the rainstorm that they'd just gotten in out of. Ebony had tried to keep the entire group dry on their way in by carrying several umbrellas in her magic, but the quiet child hadn't been able to keep under them the entire time. "...You have a very strange definition of 'fine', Drama," she said, lashing her little tail about and flinging droplets with every swing.

"There's nothing strange about it, Five-of-a-Kind," Drama rebuked her, raising her voice to be heard over the hammering in the background. "Aside from the rain being good for rooftop plants and extra drinking water, it's the perfect backdrop for a creepy story!"

"Is there ever a time when you don't have scary stuff on the mind?" Pure Energy wondered.

A cheery grin. "No, never!"

"Then we have no choice," Ebony sighed with an 'I give up' air. "Get her."

"Death by cuddles!" Zig-Zag hollered, pointing a hoof forwards.

The four children tackled the surprised Drama, dogpiling her. A chorus of giggles and laughter escaped the pile for several seconds before it all fell silent. "...Huh," the stagemaster uttered in a quieter tone, bemused. "Okay, I see your point. Get off of me, please, and I'll get the spare towels."

As the children climbed off, Gray gestured at the auditorium. She was the only one of the group who was remaining serious. "Sally, meet me in there once you have my kittens occupied. I've got some news for you."

Seven minutes later, once Drama had given Ebony her tasks and provided the other three with one of her more child-oriented scripts to look over, both ponies reconvened on-stage. Gray pulled out the newspaper that she had been carrying in her wing and unfurled it, gesturing at one of the headlines.

"Mocha Beverage Heir Diagnosed With Brain Cancer," Drama read aloud. "Family Vows To Fight It. Hmm... Fairy was telling me that they'd crossed paths briefly yesterday. Said that the tomboy was mad at her for reasons she didn't understand."

"Leviathan's explained to me about that system she uses to classify ponies' strength," Gray added. "She said that Hazelnut ranked clear at the top of the list, somehow." She began to stare up at the ceiling, then thought better of it when the lights got in her eyes. "There are rumors that her family has its own martial arts style that she's a practitioner of, but I don't get how that's supposed to make her top of the line."

Having little martial knowledge, Drama didn't respond to that and instead opted to read on. "'A team of doctors and surgeons led by Canterlot's Dr. Comprehension will be treating Miss Hazelnut over the course of five days, using the latest in both surgical procedures and medical magic. Manehattan's Dr. Goodhealth states: "We were able to catch the cancer before it advanced too far, so we are optimistic that our patient will pass with flying colors and make a full recovery."'"

Gray turned away, anxiously pawing at the ground. "There's something about this I don't like, Sally."

Drama was confused, and not about what most ponies would view as aggressive behavior. "About the cancer treatment?"

"No, that's all well and good. It's just that my instincts are telling me that letting Leviathan and Hazelnut have another face-to-face meeting would be disastrous."

The puppet master gave Gray a long look before returning her attention to the newspaper. She has that 'I know something you don't know' look. Not getting involved. "And that would be none of my business. Is that all you wanted me to see?"

"No, there's another story. Turn the page."

Drama nudged open the newspaper. A photo of Princess Celestia leading a group of ponies into a building snagged her attention immediately. "What's this?"

"The search for a means of sending Leviathan home has finally begun," Gray explained even as Drama began reading the associated article. "I don't recognize any of them, but they're supposed to be graduates of the CSGU. If Celestia's overseeing this personally, it means everypony's taking it seriously."

Drama didn't answer at first, occupying herself with reading the article from start to finish. Once she was done, she folded the newspaper back up and pushed it away, trying to think about how she felt about this.

Leviathan had been living in Manehattan for almost three weeks now. It wasn't a long time by the standards of most. Still, in that short time frame a lot had happened, with more to come. And the more they talked to each other, the more Drama felt that she was absolved of any guilt for her antics during their first meeting.

She didn't have very many friends outside of her family. There was Gray, of course. Turkey Bowl was stretching it, though in the end he was on the list too. Now, it was beginning to look as if she was ready to add a third. She wondered if Leviathan saw her the same way, or if she was just "that horror host with little sense of personal space".

Most days, it meant little to her if she interacted or otherwise spent time with friends or not. Horror and storytelling were quite literally her entire life, which left little time for casual conversation. It was partially a reason, too, for why she opted not to seek out a potential marriage mate: her enthusiasm for her genre of choice made Gray's quirks look mild in comparison, driving away nearly all of those who would probably be interested. Before a certain Reploid saved her from lightning, she had shared her home with nopony.

Dating. Developing relationships. Marriage. Possibly even foals. Who has time for any of that? Or friendships. Getting to know somepony. Forming lifelong bonds. Again, why take the time? ...Probably why I never figured out that whole "friendship is magic" thing.

The irony of the situation was not lost on her. Possible friends had always been available; she had just never bothered to seek them out, instead letting them come to her. But now that there was a chance that one of them had to leave... "Gray?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be wrong for me to wish that... Fairy didn't have to go home?"

Gray's perspective settled on the empty auditorium. She kept her mouth closed for a few minutes, frowning, and when she finally spoke it was with some hesitation. "If you want my personal opinion... no, it wouldn't be wrong in the strictest sense. I've found myself wishing it these past few days, after I was able to reunite with Junie. The problem is that she would never be able to rest easy. Being able to protect her home means everything to her. If anything were to happen to Neo Arcadia while she was gone..."

"Then she'd blame herself for not being there, and probably us for keeping her here," Drama finished, ears drooping. "I know that after that bad first impression, I wouldn't want to leave a worse final impression."

"I've heard her stories about that Dr. Weil character and what he did before." Gray shivered at the thought of him, or somepony similar, taking over Manehattan. "I wouldn't wish somepony like him on my worst enemy. It's best to let her go, if it means protecting her home from that sort of scum."

Drama eyed her curiously. "Do you even have enemies?"

Gray pretended to examine a speck on the stage. "I... had a few. Emphasis on 'had'."

Beat. "Another one of those things I don't need to know about?"

"Bingo."

An uneasy silence fell between them. The ponies' ears twitched when a noise that sounded like Pure Energy's laughter reached them from outside the auditorium. "Well, then. I guess we'll just have to support her as much as we can," Drama decided, a plan starting to percolate in her brain.

Her friend must've detected something in her voice, because she wasn't stretched out on the stage anymore. "Sally?"

"Gray, I'm cancelling tonight's performance." Drama opened a trapdoor built into the stage, magicking a copy of her tattered dress out of the compartment within. "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook. No. You are going to help me think!"

"This is sudden." Gray was paying attention. "Think of what?"

Drama slipped into her dress with well-practiced ease, the Cutie Mark clasp holding it in place at the neck. "Are you familiar with the term 'outside context problem', Gray?"

"I've been living one for three weeks," was Gray's dry response.

Drama blinked once, then twice as she applied her contact lenses. Her irises, now a dangerous shade of red, blazed with emotion as she began building up steam. "Manehattan... no, Equestria was caught off guard by the existence of off-world life," Burning Salamandra declared, pushing the lens case back into the compartment and closing the trapdoor. "The trial Leviathan is attending today is for those that severely underestimated what a Reploid was capable of. With her presence alone, she is redefining what it means to be truly alive!"

Gray's ears swiveled as she registered strings, and her pupils shrunk as the air around them started to subtly twist. "Uh-oh," she whispered. She jumped off the stage, wings flapping hard as she bolted for the exit. "Ebony! Cover your eyes, now---WHA?!"

A tendril of pure magic darted from Salamandra's horn, catching one of Gray's hind legs before she could leave and yanking her back onto the stage. "We've seen her life from every angle, dearie," she continued as if Gray wasn't on her back and dazed from the impact, the magic dissolving. "The bitter, the sweet, the sour. A killer, a warrior. A protector. And in a strange way, an ingenue. Equestria is seeing what Neo Arcadia turned her into, but has Neo Arcadia seen what Equestria will turn her into?" She giggled wickedly, her on-stage persona having fully overcome her. "Not yet, it hasn't. But it will, it will, it will!"

Percussion, strings and winds roared, as powerful as the song that characterized her evening stories. Gray had enough time to scramble to her hooves before her surroundings shifted, dragging her into the world of Salamandra's heart.

Once more, there was a group of individuals gathered in Mocha Corp. HQ's hidden conference room. Unlike last time, the room was fully lit: everypony present could now see each other clearly. True to her word, Quarter had arranged to have new lights installed.

Speaking of said boss, she was not present. Quarter would be staying at the hospital for the duration of her treatment, leaving Ignition to cover for her while she was away. The meeting could not be cancelled: Bastion and Gates had just returned from their mission to the Dragon Lands, so the overall plan needed to move forward.

Ignition cleared his throat as he took his seat. "Let's get down to business. Why did Metallium retreat?"

His helmet hid his expression, but it was easy to discern Gates's amusement. "A combination of the Princess telling her off and a personal summons from their Dragon Lord. Never saw a dragon cry before. It's honestly embarrassing."

"It does not look like she will be able to assist us any more," Bastion continued. "According to her, the Dragon Lord was furious that Metallium left at all. She was already under suspicion while she was collecting the shed scales for Ms. Quarter's experiments, and her departure prompted him to take action once he learned of it."

"Did you happen to learn anything of this 'Dragon Lord' while you were there?" Ignition asked. "What are your thoughts on---"

"I can hear her singing," Illudere interrupted dreamily, jumping out of her chair and walking towards the wall farthest from her.

Ignition's left eye twitched at the interruption. "Agent #5, back to your seat. The meeting has just started."

"Illudere, what's wrong? Who's singing?" Calico asked, concerned.

"Hee hee hee hee..."

One and all, everypony present shuddered at that little laugh. "Oh, crud," Calico groaned. "I think her brain's stuck again."

Illudere's head slowly turned to look at them. An ear to ear smile formed, one that left no doubt that she'd never needed serious dental work done in her life. "I can hear her singing, Ignition," she crooned. "The Pyre is ablaze with the sound of music! The melody tortures, it tears, it terrifies as she burns! I can't wait for the day when she collapses into cinders! Hee hee hee... hee hee hee hee... Sallll-aaaaa-mannnnn-draaaa!"

...

In the end, it became necessary for them to keep her gagged for the next few minutes. Bushwhacker noted that the strange muffled mutterings he'd been hearing from her quarters the past few evenings were making sense now.

Through it all, Ralph swung from Illudere's mane entirely un-bothered.

In the past year, Gray had experienced some heartsongs on account of being in close proximity to Salamandra whenever she cut loose. Most of the imagery that accompanied the music was nightmarish to ponykind, and the tune tended to be the same on each occasion due to it being her standard opening number.

Not this time. While still powerful, instead of being ominous and threatening, the melody seemed fairly uplifting. It wasn't to the point where she'd want to find her husband and take part in a waltz, since it was utterly unfitting for that scenario, but... 'encouraging' seemed the right word.

And while the initial imagery was still frightening to anypony who wasn't Gray, there was still hope to be had. All she had to do was listen.

It's a rare warrior that attains victories
over scourges and calamities
without knowing that somewhere behind and close by
is the force upon whom they rely!

A hissing noise drew Gray's attention to an eighty-foot serpent that looked like it could swallow large boulders whole, never mind ponies. She knew that it had to have been one of Salamandra's puppets with a magical overlay, but she didn't have time to figure out which one before it opened its mouth.

(Dr. Weil, not far from 'vile'
A tyrant of the highest order!)

Salamandra dismissed the serpent with a wave, and it slithered off into the shadows.

An unseen fate, our friend will achieve
Who ultimately knows what lies in store?
We cannot see the answer to this
unless she returns to the land of lore!

And oh, won't they be surprised?

The imagery shifted as she continued singing, showing scenes that Gray discerned were from Leviathan's perspective: the four missions she had recently undertook. Gray had gotten the Guardian's stories of that life-changing day, and Levi hadn't skimped on the details.

But it was the last one that was the most attention-grabbing. Standing on a rocky undersea platform was a bipedal being in red, with a blonde ponytail flowing from the back of his helmet and a triangle-bladed sword in his hand. Given how often Leviathan gushed over him--enough for Salamandra to get a good mental image of his appearance--there was no question as to his identity.

I am willing to call Fairy a friend, you see
I wonder, does she think it of me?
Even if she doesn't, fabric's truth will be sewn
She needs to know that she's not alone!

Gray did a double-take when a random stone materialized a mouth and offered its own spoken contribution. Oddly yet unsurprisingly (given who was creating the image), the figure before her was just as surprised.

(Reploid Zero, not far from 'hero'
A likely model of victory!)

The stone vanished with the rest of the image, though when she blinked Gray swore she saw Zero moving to attack it.

There is a city and more to guard
A journey home to settle the score
We cannot see the outcome of this
unless she returns to the land of lore!

Flabbergast a robot, why won't we?

...

Salamandra had built up a full head of steam, and she doubtless had more on her mind than what she had already sung. But before she could consider a third verse or even a bridge, she was interrupted by somepony loud, teenaged, and a bit excited.

"That was totally wicked!"

The heartsong didn't fade out as much as it snapped out, the music record-scratching itself away and the imagery popping back to the Pyre's auditorium. With one pony still caught in her emotional high and the other a bit addled from what she'd been seeing, it took several moments for them to register what just happened.

Standing just in the doorway were the four children, reacting in their own ways to what Salamandra's imagination had dragged them into. The boys were enthusiastic, Fiver was stone silent, and Ebony had slapped a hoof over her mouth out of embarrassment.

A bit more time passed before the two adults recovered, with Salamandra taking a deep breath and calming herself enough to avoid another emotional override. "How much of that did you hear, young ones?" she questioned them, descending the stairs on the side of the stage and trotting up one of the aisles to meet them. Gray took wing and flew over the seats ahead of her, reaching the children first.

"We heard the whole thing," Ebony said dryly, blushing after her outburst and awkwardly staring at the wall. "Kind of hard not to."

"We were going to tell you that your script is A-OK, A-OK," Pure Energy explained. "We'd just left your office, then it was Topsy Turvy Day all over again."

"...I'm surprised that the remodelers didn't get caught in it," Fiver commented, ears shifting as they picked up Mortar & Son still hard at work.

Zig-Zag didn't say anything, though not for a lack of intent. His face contorted as he tried to think of some way to express himself, then fell when the necessary words didn't cross his mind.

"I hope you're not going to tell us that you want to join Leviathan in fighting or something equally silly," Gray sternly informed them, positioning herself in such a way that told the children that she wasn't going to back down like she did several days ago.

"What's the word... ...'rambunctious' is not a synonym of 'idiotic', Mom," Ebony retorted, regaining her composure. "I want to be in pest control, not the military." For punctuation, her magic wrapped around her flyswatter and ended the life of a gnat that was circling around in front of her.

"Sall-Sall's right," Energy continued. "Fairy needs to know that Manehattan has her back."

"'Sall-Sall'?" Salamandra mouthed, a tad incredulous at the nickname.

"Public opinion of Leviathan's improving, yes, but saying that the city as a whole is supporting her is too much," Gray countered. "It will take something drastic for that to happen."

Salamandra brought herself back into the discussion. "In the meantime, we can start small and work our way up. Devising a care package that she can take with her back to Neo Arcadia might be a good place to start."

Gray raised a hoof to her chin, considering this. "That could work. I'll need to press Leviathan for more details on what Reploids and their creators would need, but a non-technological approach will give those in opposition to Weil a much needed advantage. Though we'll need to be careful not to give too much."

"Why, Mom?" was the foals' predictable response.

Gray closed her eyes, musing on this even as she continued speaking. "If we offered anything permanent, that would alert her city's more unsavory types. They would not only discover that magic is real, but they would try to seek it out for themselves and cause no end of trouble with it. I've read enough fiction to know that it never turns out well."

"'Be discreet about it' is what you're trying to say. Right," Salamandra agreed. "Well then, we'll spend tonight trying to figure that out. In the meantime, we've got work to do. Energy, was my script as 'A-OK' as you said, or is there anything that needs adjusting?..."

It was reasonably late in the afternoon before I returned to the Pyre, but not so late that Celestia's sun had made headway in sinking past the skyline. The last of the matinee performances should be wrapping up by now.

Courtroom trials take longer here than they do in Neo Arcadia, but in the end this business is done. Just some rudimentary paperwork to deal with, and the officials I worked with today told me they have that covered. It is too late to get any patrols in, so I decided to just return to my home away from home.

Along with my two new partners in crimefighting, that is.

I'm proven correct when I reach the Pyre: a dozen or so foals and their chaperones are in the midst of leaving. Some of them are getting distracted and clamoring for my attention. With hesitation--and with a few nudges from Maverick--I give it to them.

I make a note to run some diagnostics later. I think my heart's in danger of melting entirely.

Once the foals' parents and such are able to convince the children to leave me be, I enter the building. I quickly scan my surroundings: Mortar & Son, along with their extra help, packing up some of their supplies for the day; one of Drama's part-timers is manning the concessions booth, anxious to leave; the Ghost-Guard kids, minus Ebony, are chatting it up with their father near the auditorium doors (huh, he must've gotten off work early today) ... nothing eventful that I can tell. My partners and I wave at the kids as I walk past them into the auditorium---

"KYAAA!"

---and my foot catches on a strange lump on my way in, spilling me into the back row.

"Easy there!" Maverick protests as she and Magnum pull me to my feet. "You almost kicked us! What happened?"

A familiar sleepy yawn answers them both from the lump in quest---...! "Oh. You're back. Hi, Levi."

Huh. If I didn't know better, I'd say my coolant was boiling. "Gray!" I shout at her, kneeling over the seats to get at her. "You're supposed to be a pony, not a tripping hazard!" I swear, my scanners pick the worst times to turn themselves off!

"This feels familiar," Magnum murmurs, seeming distracted.

Gray, entirely unperturbed by my yelling at her close up, reaches her head up. I flinch at the odd sensation of sandpaper on my chin. "So, how did the trial go?"

"Why the Tartarus did she do that?" Maverick mutters, bewildered and fairly disgusted.

"This really feels familiar," Magnum comments again.

Calm. Yourself. Down. I exhale, and I'm hoping the motion takes my irritation with it. "The unicorns and remaining earth pony got sentences ranging from five to ten years, discounting parole opportunities," I say, rubbing my chin with the back of my hand. "I suppose the terms would have been longer if they hadn't agreed to give up the locations of their stashes."

Gray nods as she climbs to her hooves. "And these two? They're Knight and Gargoyle, right?"

I remain where I am, all the better to stay close to eye level. "Thanks to the events of the past few days, Maverick and Magnum here received sentences that amounted to 'time served' and 'several hundred hours of community service'. They'll be spending that service working with me directly. In the event that the Crown's able to send me back before then, any remaining time will be spent with the Police."

"You know of any cheap apartments or hotels where we can stay in the meantime, hobo?" Maverick asks of Gray. I wince at that, but the latter's expression doesn't waver. "I don't have a home anymore, and we don't know yet whether Magnum's parents are going to want her back under their roof."

"The Hyacinth Apartments in Bronclyn have some empty rooms," Gray offers, smiling serenely. "I'm on good terms with the superintendent. If you name-drop me, you should be able to get a good deal."

"And your name would be...?"

"Gray Ghost," she introduces herself. "Just a humble housewife."

A gasp from an unexpected source. "IT'S YOU!"

I twitch, startled at Magnum's sudden declaration. I'm about to tell her off... but a broad smile and excited eyes belay that intention, and I instead wonder what drives her to raise her voice. Gray's smile falls away, replaced by curiosity.

The surprised Maverick raises a hoof placatingly. "Whoa! Calm down there, girl!"

Attracted by the racket, Gray's family pokes their heads into the auditorium. Somewhere behind me, Drama enters from backstage for the same reason. Magnum ignores them all. "Calm down? What do you mean, 'calm down'?!" she exclaims, the happiest she's been since her job interview. "Don't you get it? She's the one! This crazy cat-pony's the one who saved my life!"

Author's Note:

Linked music tracks include: The CAS music for The Sims 4's "Vampires" pack, and "Green Onions", by Booker T. & The M.G.s.

While Salamandra's song is wholly original, that's not to say it didn't have any inspiration. If you've ever heard Gloryhammer's "Universe on Fire", then you have a good idea of what sort of tone I was going for. Though obviously it doesn't have the same sort of lyrical dissonance.

...Between her theme song and this one, I'm beginning to think that she's a closet metal fan.

Next chapter: the plan that will result in Leviathan taking on Quarter's remaining agents gets a'rolling.

Oh, and before I forget: for those of you don't read the blogs, CyanLightning at DeviantArt was nice enough to get some artwork of Ebony Evening done for me. My thanks to him for his work!

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Comments

[tsaukpaetra]

A care package? Boy do they have faith!
Always figured the two would get Leviathan as a parole officer. They clicked way to well to be otherwise.

[Shazam 25]

I'll be honest, I've been wracking my brain to figure out what I wanted to say about this chapter for a long while. In the end, I'll just say this. It's nice to know that Grey, Dama, and the kids want to let Leviathan know that even after she leaves, they want to give her something to remember them by as well as letting her know that she's not alone in her fights. It was the same for Mega Man, X, and Zero. And Magnum knows Grey from before, huh? Can't write to hear that story.

[A Soul In Limbo]

"That was totally wicked!"

I will NEVER forget that line from The Incredibles. XD

[Fox Jones]

Awww, little ponies are developing feelings for Levi!

[Poparakelis]

Cute

[Draco Dei]

This care package will be "military gear with self-destructs and subtle enough in effect (and appearance for anything that might get seen) to not give any people any 'good'/'bad' ideas, rather than momentos of good times" right? Or rather, some of both...

In other words, I am fairly sure the mention of "out of context problem" lead to Salamandra treating the idea of the idea of an "out of context SOLUTION", because, in a fight, one side's solution is the other sides problem.